PM Modi government has introduced some sweeping changes for women empowerment, from something as simple as eliminating a name change in the passport to passing the long-awaited women’s reservation bill.
Now, PM Modi’s government has taken one more step towards women empowerment by changing the Pension rules for female government servants to nominate their children for family pension in precedence to her husband.
The existing provisions of the family pension rules state that the spouse of a deceased government servant or pensioner is the first beneficiary of the family pension, and the children and other family members become eligible only after the spouse dies or becomes ineligible. However, this provision may not be suitable for some female government servants/pensioners who are facing marital problems such as divorce, domestic violence, dowry harassment, or criminal charges against their husbands.
Therefore, the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare has decided to amend the family pension rules to empower female government servants/pensioners to nominate their eligible child/children for family pension in place of their spouse in the event of marital discord. This amendment is progressive in nature and would significantly enhance the welfare of women employees/pensioners.
The new procedure for granting family pension to the eligible child/children of a female government servant/pensioner in case of marital discord is as follows:
The female government servant/pensioner may make a written request to the concerned Head of Office to grant family pension to her eligible child/children in precedence to her spouse, if she is involved in any divorce proceedings or has filed a case against her husband under any relevant law.
In the event of her death during the pendency of any such proceedings, the family pension shall be disbursed according to the following order of preference:
If the deceased is survived by a widower and no eligible child/children, the family pension shall be payable to the widower.
If the deceased is survived by a widower with a minor or disabled child/children, the family pension shall be payable to the widower, provided he is the guardian of such child/children. If the widower ceases to be the guardian, the family pension shall be payable to the child through the actual guardian. If the minor child attains majority and remains eligible, the family pension shall be payable to such child.
If the deceased is survived by a widower with a child/children who have/have attained majority but is or are eligible, the family pension shall be payable to such child/children.
After the child/children cease to be eligible, the family pension shall be payable to the widower until his death or remarriage, whichever is earlier.
After all the children and the widower cease to be eligible, the family pension shall be payable to other eligible family members, if any.
(With inputs from PIB)
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.